Hair Care for the Whole Family: 4 Important Tips

Hair. Regardless of age group and gender, dry, brittle and vulnerable hair is something that simply shouldn’t happen.

Sadly, too many families don’t really consider some fundamental practices that will improve the hair health of all household members.

I know, it sounds a bit…militaristic, perhaps? But would you want your kids to grow up with bad hair health? Would you enjoy having stiff, tangled and dry locks?

Probably not! Here are a few things that will help you keep things healthy.

Consider more natural products

You don’t need to go on a radical bio/eco mission. Just be a little bit more picky about the shampoos and conditioners your family uses.

There are a few especially bad offenders in terms of ingredients. If you find a product that cuts down on them, you’ve already made a huge step forward to your family’s well-being.

My top 3 ingredients to avoid would be:

Parabens: As with other beauty products, parabens find their way into shampoos too. They serve as a supposed preservative, but some studies hint that they might increase your risk of getting cancer. Frequently seen: methylparaben and butylparaben.

Sulfates: Sulfate-free shampoos are a thing, and with a good reason. The main culprits you’ll see are ALS and SLS – Ammonium lauryl sulfate, and Sodium lauryl sulfate, respectively.

Some studies show a link between them and hair damage, not to mention skin irritation can also occur quite often. An itchy, irritated scalp is a sure way to have a bad time.

Propylene Glycol: A classic. PG is used as a thickener/to bring more consistency to the shampoo table. However, similar to the sulfates, it increases the risk to experience skin irritation – along with eye irritation if you manage to get a bit of it there.

Ditch these, and grab a natural shampoo instead!

Don’t neglect the effect of hard water

Hard water areas are aplenty, especially in the US. So what, you might think…hard water, soft water, does it really matter that much.

It totally does!

Hard water contains a lot of minerals which leads to them sticking to your hair. If you don’t rinse them away, they “clog” it, stripping it of its shine and silkiness.

The thing is, normal shampoos can’t really copy with this increased amount of minerals. If you live in a hard water area, your best bet is to get a special type of hard water shampoo

Different varieties exist, such as clarifying or chelating shampoos. Both will break down the minerals properly and free your hair of the dry, brittle feeling.

Don’t overdo it

I was a previous offender in the ‘I’m-Washing-My-Hair-Too-Frequently’ category. Doing that every single day is a surefire way to sacrifice your locks’ health for a lot of people.

Disclaimer: This is my personal experience and varies from person to person!

In my (and my family’s) case, washing our hair too often led to decreased amount of natural oils. It was especially bad in my case, as my hair would break easily and get dry – despite me using a bottle of natural and more expensive shampoo.

What I found out is that washing my hair 2-3 times per week is the best option.

This is a point you especially want to consider if you color your hair. Using a shampoo too often will fade your shiny red, seductive blonde or whatever color you prefer….And it’ll do that in no time.

Of course, shampoos specifically made for colored hair do exist. But even with them, if you are overly zealous about washing your hair, you’ll strip your locks off the vibrant colors way too quickly.

Always keep your hair type in mind

It’s obvious, isn’t it?

Yet many people get it wrong.

Fine, oily, normal – then curly, straight, slightly frizzy…Or no hair at all! There are so many different types of hair and it’s natural that there isn’t any one-product-fits-all solution.

What works for normal hair might be a total disaster for us, the people with oily locks. For example, oily hairtypes call for less ingredients stuffed into the shampoo. Why? To avoid additional buildup aside from the oil that accumulates on our locks every single day.

On the other hand, fine hair plays pretty well with thickening agents and film-formers that make it appear bulkier and more presentable.

If you do that with curly hair, the effects mightn’t be that great.

Wrapping it up

There’s no grand conclusion here: just the idea that hair should be a crucial part in any family’s pursuit of well-being.

A lot of people focus on healthy eating and healthy habits (good amount of sleep, sleeping early, exercise etc.), but tend to leave hair care out of it.

In my opinion that’s a rather important thing to neglect – and looking after your hair doesn’t cost that much effort anyways!